Instinct
by heroherondaletotherescue
Summary: All sane thoughts had flown out of Rie's mind in that moment, it was like time froze and she was the only thing able to move. When she saw the knife heading for his chest she jumped in front of him, after all, it was pure instinct to protect the ones you love, and she loved Peter Parker. / One-Shot.


Instinct

Rie gasped as a burning pain erupted in her side once more with the sharp movement. She did her best to hide it but was sure that her facial expression gave it away. She remained silent as she snuck into Peter's bedroom after a long night on the streets of Queens, the two young adults doing their best to keep their footsteps light in case Aunt May heard them entering at this late hour.

Rie held onto Peter's arm for support, and though she couldn't see his face as it was hidden by his mask, she was sure it would be a mixture of anger furrowed into his features.

Peter twisted the handle of his door open slowly, taking care when he pushed it open, ushering Rie inside before he closed the door. Once he was sure that it was closed and locked, he turned to face her, ripping off his mask as he watched her sit down on the bed, clutching her side as it ached in pain. He had taken her immediately to the Avengers Tower where she had received medical help, Bruce taking good care of her wound with a few stitches and bandages before sending them on their way.

Uncomfortable silence followed them the entire flight over, thankfully it was mostly over powered by the echo of traffic in the city below as Peter swung from the buildings til they reached his apartment.

Peter hadn't said a word and Rie was beginning to panic inside. He was never usually this quiet. As she looked up, her hand covering the tight bandages on the left side of her abdomen, their eyes met and she suddenly felt the room grow smaller. He looked angry, but she recognised the look of worry that lay beneath, it was the same feeling she had every time he went out on a mission.

"I can't believe what you did! Why did you take that hit? You know I could have jumped out of the way in time, I'm the one who has super powers after all, not you?!" Peter shouted through a whisper. His words were harsh and his breathing heavy as he questioned her actions that night.

He paced around the room, his feet light as a feather as he walked back and forth, running his hand through his messy brown curls as he tried to piece together a logical explanation for his best friend having suicidal tendencies.

Rie wasn't meant to be there in the first place, she had plans to meet him at his place and relax but had somehow gotten caught up in the drama that came with his life as Spider-Man. It had all happened so quickly, she couldn't believe the coincidence and the fact that she happened to bump into him in the streets of Queens whilst fighting crime, but once second she was about to walk away and the next she had found herself in front of a sharp and jagged knife that was about to slice his chest in a dark alleyway.

Frankly she didn't have an answer for his question? Why did she jump in front of him? Why didn't she just tell him to move? He had freakishly impressive agility skills, and surely he would have seen it coming with his Spidey senses. He was a superhero, an Avenger, he could do this in his sleep, but all she could think of in that moment was to get _him_ out of harms way.

"Peter," She began, sighing as he looked over at her with expectant eyes, his arms crossed against his chest.

She licked her lips unsure of what to say, swallowing nervously she fiddled with the oversized shirt she had borrowed from Peter's locker at the Tower considering hers had been practically ripped to shreds by the knife. Her hands then moved to her dark hair and she gripped the locks for a moment as she looked up at him before looking down at her hands once more.

"Do we really have to do this now? I'm tired, and frankly, I don't know what to say," She mumbled, avoiding his gaze. She could feel her cheeks blazing in embarrassment. She wasn't a hero and though she tried to play the part all she did was get herself hurt and possibly ruin her friendship in the process. _Great work_ , she thought to herself.

The only reason she was at his place was because they had made the plans and her roommate was bringing over her boyfriend for the evening and had asked if she could have the place to herself. There was no way that she was going to show up and interrupt her plans, it would be rude, and frankly, she wasn't too keen on being the third wheel. If not for that, she would be at home, collapsed into bed with the blankets drawn up to her face.

"Yes, we have to do this now, why did you jump in front of me?" Peter's voice was laced with frustration and she rolled her eyes, feeling the same way.

"Sshh," She said, "You're speaking so loud, you'll wake Aunt May."

"I don't care, just tell me what crazy idea was running through your mind when you decided to jump in front of me?" He asked, roughly running a hand through his hair. Rie tried her best to lower her gaze but she couldn't help but notice how breathtaking Peter looked when he ruffled his hair, his cheeks slightly red from frustration.

She shook her head, ridding those thoughts from her mind and focusing back on their conversation… or argument as some might point out.

"I was trying to protect you," She mumbled softly watching as his jaw clenched at the words.

"What? I can protect myself just fine, you shouldn't have jumped in front of me," Peter berated in a condescending tone. So what if she made a mistake, or sacrificed her safety to keep him safe? He had done if for her enough times and she never got angry at him like this.

"Why are you so upset about this Peter? I'm not going to apologise for my actions," She said finally, her voice rising as well.

He took a step forward and threw his hands in the air. "Well maybe you should!"

"I did it because I love you," She blurted out in anger, regretting it as soon as she saw him freeze in his step as he paced the room. Her heart was pounding in her chest against her ribcage. She wanted to scream but her lips were now sealed shut, as though her body was protecting her from saying anything stupid again.

She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, praying that this was all a dream and that she hadn't just admitted that she loved her best friend to his face, knowing it would most likely ruin their friendship.

 _God save me now_. She eyes blinked open and bit her lip as he looked over at her with those puppy dog eyes that always made her melt. _Damn you and your soft face. I hate you._

"What did you just say?" He asked, his eyes wide and unsure as he stared at her perched on the bed trying to make herself seem smaller.

"I-Uh, nothing." She cleared her throat and looked down at her hands that were now resting in her lap.

"You just-You just said you loved me," Peter breathed out, a dazed look in his eye that caused her to almost cry at the softness in his voice.

"I wasn't thinking straight," She finally admitted, her voice soft. "I saw the knife and it's like I just stopped functioning. I froze, I couldn't yell, I couldn't scream at you to move so I just ran in front of you instead of doing anything else. It was just... _instinct_ to protect you… because… _I do love you_ , and I'm not going to apologise for that."

Tears had gathered in her eyes and she did her best to keep them at bay. The events of the night came crashing down on her, she liked to think she was running off pure adrenaline at this point, but it was now that she realised the severity of what had happened.

She had been stabbed with a knife, a weapon, never before had she been hurt or attacked like this, never before had she ever been in such danger and it was because he had always protected her. It was terrifying and though she hated to admit it she was scared. She had been so scared of him getting hurt that it over powered her own fear and allowed her to jump in front of him. But it was now that reality had settled in.

But regardless of this, she had loved Peter for the longest time and she wasn't going to apologise for wanting to protect him the way he wanted to protect her, the same way he protected so many others every day.

Silently Peter walked over to the bed, sitting beside her with what could only be described as a look of shock on his face. When he noticed that she wasn't looking at him, he turned to face her.

"I'm not angry with you," Peter finally spoke up, his voice softer than before. He felt terrible for getting so worked up and for yelling earlier now that the truth had been revealed. It made his heart race faster just at the thought that she loved him, and so much so that she was willing to throw herself into harms way just to protect him. He brought his hand up and brushed away a piece of stray hair that was covering the side of her face, gently tilting her head towards him til their eyes met.

"I was so terrified that I was going to lose you, because… I love you too and seeing you there in so much pain… all that blood… I was so scared of losing you like I lost Uncle Ben," Peter admitted, his voice cracking when he mentioned his Uncle's name. "I don't ever want to be that scared again."

"I'm okay now. I'm safe, you don't need to be scared."

Rie felt a pang of guilt when he mentioned his Uncle and it grew tenfold when a lone tear slipped down his cheek. She brought her hand up and wiped away his tears, her hand coming to rest on the side of his face. Peter leaned forward until their foreheads were resting against one another, her eyelids fluttering closed as she relished in the warmth of his touch.

"Are you feeling alright?" Peter asked, his eyes glancing down at her side where the bandage was. He had held her hand the entire time as Bruce stitched her up, but his mind had been racing so much he had barely spoken a word. "Does it still hurt?"

"A little bit," She said, pausing before looking into his eyes, a small quirky smile forming on the corner of her lips, "but you're worth the pain." She still couldn't believe that he said he loved her back, but with the way he was smiling at her right now, there was no way of denying it was anything but true.

A hearty laugh escaped Peter's lips and he didn't hesitate in leaning forward to press them against hers in a searing kiss, surprising her with the action. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she let her body act over mind once more that night instinctively. Butterflies danced in her belly as he kissed her sweetly and she was sure she was on another plane of existence.

"I love you," She whispered, pulling away from his embrace.

His eyes sparkled and she was sure she had never seen a more beautiful sight. _Well that was an understatement considering she had seen him shirtless, but that wasn't the point._

His eyes glanced between her eyes and her lips once more before replying confidently."I know."

She narrowed her eyes at him playfully. "Did you just quote Star Wars?"

He snorted and she laughed harder, shaking her head before pressing a kiss to his cheek, loving the way he turned bright red at the gesture. " _Dork_." It was such a Peter thing to say and it was perfect.

"I love you too."

Peter leaned down to give her one last kiss, savouring the way it felt to have her lips pressed against his before he pulled away. He helped her off the bed and fixed all the blankets, making sure to take extra care with fluffing up the before helping Rie lay down comfortably on her uninjured side.

A quick outfit change left him now dressed in comfortable sweats and ready to call it a night. He flicked the switch on the fall, the lights turning off, creating am ambiance of darkness, the only light in the room a streak of moonlight peaking through his curtains. Carefully he climbed underneath the warm blankets next to Rie, doing his best to keep still. He wasn't sure what to do but when her hands gently grabbed his arms to wrap themselves around her, he felt at ease as he sunk into the pillows, the soft mattress engulfing them in warmth and comfort after a tiring night. The two lovers fell asleep to the steady thrum of their hearts beating away, feeling calm and safe in the arms of each other.

* * *

 **Authors Note:**

 **Thoughts? I hope this was interesting… I've never written for the MCU and actually published it so… enjoy. I just wanted to write something super fluffy.**

 **Also note that they are roughly 18/19 years old in this one-shot.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Spider-Man, all rights belong to the original creators, I only own my own creative genius and OC.


End file.
